Lippard and Sharp Awarded National Medal of Science

Newsletter Staff

Faculty Newsletter Editorial Board member Stephen J. Lippard has been awarded the National Medal of Science, the nation’s highest science honor.

In a ceremony at the White House on February 13, 2006, Lippard, the Arthur Noyes Professor of Chemistry, and Institute Professor Phillip A. Sharp, were among eight recipients who were awarded the medals by President George W. Bush.

Lippard was cited "for pioneering research in bioinorganic chemistry, including the interaction of metal compounds with DNA, preparation of synthetic models for metalloproteins, and structural and mechanistic studies of methane monooxygenase."

Stephen J. Lippard and President Bush

"I am very pleased to receive this honor for it recognizes the work of the many wonderful graduate students and post-doctoral associates who have contributed to the science that we were able to accomplish," Lippard said. "It was most unexpected."

The National Medal of Science was established in 1959 to be given to individuals "deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to knowledge in the physical, biological, mathematical or engineering sciences." In 1980 Congress expanded this recognition to include the social and behavioral sciences.

The two join 43 other current and past members of the MIT community who have been awarded the National Medal of Science.